SEARCH TEAMS REPORT BACK. IN WASHINGTON, I'M HALLIE JACKSON. A TODDLER IS SAFE AFTER FOUND WANDERING ALONE IN AN ORANGE COUNTY APARTMENT COMPLEX. HE WAS FOUND TRYING TO OPEN A NEIGHBOR'S DOOR. RIKKI KLAUS IS THERE LIVE AND THE BOY'S MOTHER IS BEHIND BARS? Reporter: THAT'S RIGHT, SHE IS IN THE ORANGE COUNTY JAIL CHARGED WITH CHILD NEGLIGENT. DEPUTY SASS SAY THEY FOUND HER ONE-YEAR-OLD SON WALKING IN A BREEZEWAY LIKE THIS ONE IN A SHIRT AND DIAPER AND WHEN THEY LOCATED HIS APARTMENT THEY FOUND A LITTLE GIRL INSIDE. DEPUTY SAY THE FOUR-YEAR-OLD WAS SLEEPING AT THE TIME AND SIBLING WERE LEFT ALONE AND IN PARENTS TO BE FOUND. THEY NOTICE TWOD FIRE ALARMS OUT OF PLACE. THE SMOKE DETECTORS WERE TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CEILINGS AND JUST LAYING ON THE COUNTER OF THE RESIDENCE. SO IF THERE WAS FIRE THERE TONIGHT, WE DON'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD HAVE ALERTED ANYBODY. INVESTIGATORS SAY THE SITUATION COULD HAVE TURNED OUT MUCH WORSE. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF THINGS THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED FROM A FIRE THIS THERE OR THE CHILD WALKING IN THE DARK PARKING LOT GETTING HIT BY A CAR OR AND ABDUCTED. Reporter: ABOUT AN HOUR LATER THE KIDS' MOTHER, L ARRIVED HOME. SHE TOLD DEPUTIES SHE WAS GONE TO PICK UP A FRIEND FROM WORK AND DEPUTIES SAY SHE REFUSED TO TALK ANY MORE ABOUT THE SITUATION. C, D.C.F HAS PLACED THE TWO CHILDREN WITH THEIR AUNT.

A law enforcement official tells The Associated Press that a Justice Department investigation has found patterns of racial bias in the Ferguson, Missouri, police department and at the municipal jail and court.